The war in Iran has evolved into a global economic crisis, driving up energy prices and forcing major shifts in shipping and trade routes. Ongoing military strikes have caused significant disruptions at critical chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz, forcing governments to urgently secure alternative supply sources and reevaluate supply chain resilience. Previously, we reported that the conflict has exposed Japan's vulnerability due to extreme energy dependency on Asian producers. Japan relies on the Middle East for over 90% of its crude oil and…

Global oil production has been slashed by as much as 11 million barrels daily amid the Middle East war. With the latest attempt at ending the hostilities failing, chances are the supply disruption will last a while, and then it would take months to restore production to its full size, even in the best-case scenario. “Even if there is a durable ceasefire tomorrow and the strait reopens, markets will not return to normal for at least six months,” Rystad Energy’s head of geopolitical analysis told the Financial Times earlier this…

Nuclear energy is experiencing a resurgence in popularity on a global scale, thanks to a resurgence in energy security anxieties worldwide. The AI boom has majorly ramped up energy demand projections around the world at the same time that climate pledges are inching dangerously close with perilously little progress to show. Add to this a near-endless cycle of energy crisis and geopolitical conflict, and you're presented with a majorly heightened energy trilemma: how to source energy that is sufficient, affordable, and sustainable. To solve this…

The legendary derivatives trading team at Vitol Group, the world’s largest oil trader, has reportedly lost hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars on oil bets that went very wrong as the war in the Middle East roiled global markets and trapped physical supply at the Strait of Hormuz. Vitol’s star trader Yaoyao Liu found himself on the wrong side of bets on crude and fuel prices at the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, as prices soared in the worst disruption of global oil supply in history, the Wall Street Journal reports, quoting…

U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gasoline prices might remain high through the November 2026 midterm elections, a rare admission of the potential political fallout from the ongoing war in the Middle East. Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that gas prices could "stay the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same" when asked if gas prices would be lower by the fall. Trump has defended the surge as a "very small price to pay" for long-term global safety and the neutralization of Iran's nuclear threat.…

U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gasoline prices might remain high through the November 2026 midterm elections, a rare admission of the potential political fallout from the ongoing war in the Middle East. Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that gas prices could "stay the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same" when asked if gas prices would be lower by the fall. Trump has defended the surge as a "very small price to pay" for long-term global safety and the neutralization of Iran's nuclear threat.…

U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gasoline prices might remain high through the November 2026 midterm elections, a rare admission of the potential political fallout from the ongoing war in the Middle East. Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that gas prices could "stay the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same" when asked if gas prices would be lower by the fall. Trump has defended the surge as a "very small price to pay" for long-term global safety and the neutralization of Iran's nuclear threat.…

Ecuador, once a stable mid-tier oil producer in Latin America, is now facing a structural energy decline that is increasingly spilling over into regional instability. Production has fallen sharply in recent years, dropping to around 349,000 barrels per day in 2025, an 8.5% annual decline, while fuel imports have surged, further deepening external dependence. This is not the result of resource depletion. Ecuador still holds very significant reserves and untapped potential. Rather, the country’s decline is the consequence of policy fragmentation,…